China will see a busy year for judiciary reform in 2004,
covering jails, notarial authorities and legal authentication
organs as well as community rectification programs and government
lawyers that are still new.
China will speed up the judiciary reform this year, especially
to boost the reform of the jail system, notarial system and legal
authentication, said Minister of Justice Zhang Fusen Monday at a
national meeting of directors of provincial bureaus of justice.
The trial run of community rectification and government lawyers
will be promoted, and the country plans to improve the national
judicial examination, Zhang added.
Last year, China selected six provinces and municipalities,
including northeast China's Heilongjiang
Province, to carry out a trial run of the jail system
reform.
"This year, more provinces will be included in the program," he
said.
As a major part of the reform, China plans to separate jail-run
enterprises from jails.
Chinese jails run some non-profit enterprises, usually small
workshops, where inmates work as part of rectification programs and
learn useful skills.
China is working to separate the personnel and assets of jail
enterprises from jails to make the enterprises manage themselves,
Zhang said. Problems have cropped up when the administration of a
jail runs enterprises at the same time, he added.
The trial run of community rectification programs is also to
move to more provinces as soon as possible, Zhang said. So far, six
provinces and municipalities, including Beijing, Shanghai and east
China's Jiangsu
Province, have tried out community rectification programs.
The Chinese government only hired its first government lawyers
early last year, but the number of government lawyers has already
increased to 958. Some 384 government departments in 20 provinces,
autonomous regions and municipalities have hired government lawyers
to guarantee that administration is carried out in line with the
law.
Zhang noted that governments nationwide will recruit lawyers
this year.
(Xinhua News Agency January 6, 2004)